Bihar: Ruckus In College After Students Asked To Remove Hijab During Exam

Hijab Row In Bihar's College: The incident happened at Mahant Darshan Das Mahila College, where students were asked to remove their hijabs before an exam.

A Muslim Woman Wearing A Hijab Holds A Placard During Protest (Representational Image)

Source : Getty

College students in Muzaffarpur, north Bihar, claimed they were asked to take off their her head-scarf (hijab) during an exam on Sunday, and when they refused, they were asked to leave, news agency ANI reported. 

Muzaffarpur, Bihar | We were in the classroom & were writing the exam when the teacher asked to take off the hijab saying that we might be wearing a bluetooth device. On not taking off hijab the teacher asked us to leave, say students pic.twitter.com/E6zFFeW7pC

— ANI (@ANI) October 16, 2022

The incident occurred at the Mahant Darshan Das Mahila College (MDDM), located in the town's Mithanpura locality, where intermediate students were preparing for their sent up exams.

A student also said that objectionable remarks were made against her by a male teacher when she refused to take off her head-scarf (hijab) during the exam, news agency PTI reported. 

"She claimed that the teacher had called her an anti-national and taunted her with the remark that she should go to Pakistan. I was not at the examination hall at the time but other girls appearing for the tests have said it was a lie," PTI quoted College Principal Dr Kanu Priya as saying. 

The principal said, "Hijab was not an issue at all. Many students were carrying mobile phones, which was against norms."

The girl was only asked to reveal her ears as the teacher, who was one of the invigilators, needed to check if she was carrying any Bluetooth device, the principal said.

Students have to keep their mobile phones outside before entering the classroom. When teacher in exam hall asked the student to remove hijab & show if she isn't using Bluetooth device, the girl didn't show it & got aggressive: College Principal pic.twitter.com/XBLO8rZmQh

— ANI (@ANI) October 16, 2022

"If the girl had a problem with that, she could have informed the examination controller or me. But she had other intentions. She rang up the local police station and also some local anti-social elements she seemed to be knowing. When they arrived, she created a ruckus," alleged the principal, PTI reported. 

The Station House Officer (SHO) of the local Mithanpura police station, Shrikant Sinha, said the dispute arose when the tests had just begun.

"Both sides were counselled by us and the exams were conducted peacefully. At present, lodging a case or deployment of additional forces in the area is not warranted. But we will keep a watch," PTI quoted the SHO as saying. 

Wearing a hijab in schools was a major issue in Karnataka, and the case had reached the Supreme Court. On October 13, the Supreme Court issued a split decision on the ban on hijabs in Karnataka's educational institutions and referred the case to the Chief Justice of India for the formation of a larger bench.

(With Inputs From Agencies)